“God, I hope so. I’ve been sick with worry ever since you left. And when I freaked out over the promotion, I thought I’d lost you.” He tipped his forehead to touch hers. “I love you, Bella. Cory loves you. We don’t want to lose you.”
“Not going to happen, my very own hero. I’ve committed to this life and now you’re stuck with me.”
He tucked a finger under the collar of her fleecy pajamas. “Forgive me for being a bit dense, but you invited me for a make-up dinner. Either I’m early or you’re running late.”
Bella laughed, kissed him soundly and stood up. “Nope. This is the real me, my favorite thing to do when I have a night off, which doesn’t happen very often.” She ran into the kitchen when the timer pinged, took the lid off a pot and stirred. The smell of bolognaise made his mouth water.
“Spaghetti bog, a movie, and ice cream from the tub is my idea of heaven.” She took two bowls and spooned a generous helping into each and sprinkled it liberally with grated cheese. “Can you put on the movie please?” She hustled over to the coffee table, put the dinner down. “You haven’t seen this one, have you?”
Jake looked at it and shook his head. “No. What’s it about?”
“Oh, just a girl who falls in love with a guy.”
The End
Doctor’s Orders
Ann B. Harrison
Chapter One
“You did what?”
April Moore held the phone away from her ear until the rumbling thunder that was her father’s voice reverberated inside her head. This was never going to be an easy call to make but she wasn’t one to shy away from a painful job. She’d already put it off for far too long.
“I’ve got myself a shop.”
“That’s what I thought you said. April, this is ridiculous. You don’t know the first thing about running your own business. What on earth possessed you to be so, so irrational? I thought I knew you but this takes things to a whole new level.”
She counted to ten before answering. He only had her best interests at heart, he did, just as he did for all his four daughters. “Darling Daddy, if you think about it, I’ve had more experience than most.”
“Is that right? When? Tell me that. You worked in a garden nursery but you weren’t in the office. You were some glorified weed puller or something. Nor did you do anything remotely organizational when you worked at the florist as a glorified assistant. Another boss that took advantage of you as far as I can see.” He covered the mouthpiece and mumbled. Her mother was probably asking what all the fuss was about. Perhaps it would have been wiser to call her instead. At least she would have taken the news a bit calmer.
But back to her experience. That wasn’t true. She’d almost single-handedly run the place for weeks. And she’d told him at the time, too. How easy it was to forget the good she’d managed to do and only focus on the bad.
“Actually I did. I ran the office when Margery got sick, remember? I told you about it. I even asked your advice on something to do with the banking system she used.” At least she’d mentioned it to him even if she hadn’t gone into too much detail.
In the end, April had worked it out for herself. She chewed on her lip, the first niggle of doubt creeping up her spine with its multiple legs itching her skin. She brushed it off, refusing to give into thoughts that would only cripple her. This was going to be her time to shine. She wouldn’t let it fail. It was too late for second-guessing her impulse buy this time.
A resigned sigh came over the phone. “Two weeks from memory. That hardly makes you a great candidate to be a business owner. All that money we spent on you getting your design certificate, learning to ‘dress’ people’s houses and you never even attempted to use what you learned. Waste of time and money, if you ask me. Then I thought you wanted to be a marriage celebrant. You even wrote a bunch of speeches for when you get your license. You’ve registered into the course and it’s supposed to start soon. Don’t tell me that’s another ‘fad’ you’re going to ditch before you start. And just where did the money come from?”
That was last month’s idea, the celebrant. Sure, she had a way with words and it sounded good at the time but did she really want to marry people when she couldn’t find happiness herself? It seemed like too much responsibility and too boring when she sat down and gave it serious thought. She’d have to do what they wanted and her creativity would probably shrivel up and die a painful death. How long could she look at loved-up couples and be happy? Just as well she’d only paid out a deposit for her course. How was she going to tell him the next part?
“And what exactly is this shop going to be?”
“Um, kind of a cross between a florist and a gift shop.” At least he’d gone past the money question. “It’s what I love, Daddy. I’m good with flowers, you know that, and I love rummaging around looking for that special thing that sets my designs apart from everyone else’s. I want to do party and wedding decorating as well as sell flowers.” Why did it feel as though she had to convince him? She’d already made the commitment and no amount of angst from family members would change that. “I’m going to be using my design degree too. I thought you’d be happy about that.”
“I don’t understand how you can use that to make flower arrangements.”
“What I’m going to do is advertise a service, Daddy. If I can go to someone’s house or
